


Mysteries of the Sea

by xserenity



Series: JayDick Week 2017 [7]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, M/M, mer!Dick, merman, merman dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-09 07:07:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12271419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xserenity/pseuds/xserenity
Summary: "Alright, whoever said mythical beings didn't exist were lying. For real, they were just straight out fucking lying.Because why else would there be a freaking mermaid lying right before Jason's eyes. Oh wait, excuse him, merman."





	Mysteries of the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> Day 4 - Mer AU

Alright, whoever said mythical beings didn't exist were lying. For real, they were just straight out fucking  _lying_. Those stories about Big Foot sightings? Definitely real. The media claiming it as a hoax? Were just trying to cover up their tracks.

Or even the ones about the Loch Ness monster. Yeah, that had to be real too. Even  _UFOs_  and  _aliens_. Everything out of the ordinary that people thought were just made-up and fake, crazy people watching too much sci-fi and fantasy, were real.

Yeah.  _Totally real_.

Because why else would there be a freaking mermaid lying right before Jason's eyes. Oh wait, excuse him, mer _man_  because this fish human thing was definitely not a woman. First off, there were no boobs. Second, he didn’t see a— _wait_ , that wouldn’t matter anyways because his whole bottom half was a huge ass fin. Or tail. Or whatever they called it.

That part of the body was honestly the least of his worries. Because right now, there was an unconscious merman right in front of his eyes and Jason didn’t know what to do. He was just out taking a leisure walk around the beach and happened to magically spot a floating body in the water. Freaked out of his mind, he jumped right in to save the person. Only to find out that it was a mermai—fuck— _merman_ , when he brought her—fuck nugget—him, to shore.

This was too confusing, and honestly, he was used to only seeing and reading about mermaids in movies, shows and books. Wasn’t used to mermen, so it was odd to him and he had to get used to it.

When Jason was finally out of the water and caught sight of the being within his arms, he was flat out shocked. Almost just tossed the merman back into the water except he couldn’t because fucking hell, the thin— _fish person_  was gorgeous. Just,  _drop dead gorgeous_. Like never seen before and Jason had met a lot of people in his twenty something years of life, but no one that made him this star struck. Wowed him so much he was speechless. Because right now, he was _speechless_ , both because he had a pretty fish boy in his arms.

Despite the fact that he was unconscious, Jason could see the beautiful sculpt of his torso, perfect like the Greek God, Adonis. His hair was dark and luscious, complimented his long lashes, fine nose and strong jawline. His lips were plush and pink, very pretty looking and kiss—nope.

Jason was mesmerized by his looks, was blown breathless and couldn't help but gaze in awe. Turquoise eyes scanned his entire body from the top all the way to the tip of the tail. Noticed how his fin wasn't green like depicted in fiction, but instead, was a beautiful sapphire blue hue. It glistened, sparkling in the sunlight, bright and vivid. Almost blended in with the ocean. It was so lovely Jason wanted to touch it. 

And he did. Placed his hand gently to his tail, felt the scaly bumps and wetness of his...legs he supposed. It was almost like he was touching a fish, well, he theoretically was.

Drawing in a breath, Jason's eyes flickered back to the pretty merman's face. Saw that he was still unconscious and suddenly felt his stomach tighten, taut with worry.

He realized why he had saved him in the first place because he thought that he was drowning. That someone was drowning and oh fuck—was he drowning?  _Wait_ , the merman couldn't be because he was a fish. And fish can breathe under water...right?

Jason slid his finger up the merman's chest, felt his hardened abs and pressed a palm to the middle of his pecs. Felt around for a heartbeat, for a sign of life. He found it, faintly beating and breathed a sigh of relief. Good to know the merman wasn't dead because Jason was too caught up with staring at him.

But who wouldn't be anyways? It was a fish for fuck's sake, albeit, a very gorgeous looking fish.

He pulled back his hand and took another look at the merman, wanted to see if there was anything else amiss. There had to have been a reason as to why he was passed out, drifting in the ocean for all to see. As he looked about, he spotted a small pool of blood peeking out from underneath his side. 

Gently, Jason lifted him up, rolled him slightly to his side to examine the source of the blood and found a nasty gash. It started at the tip of his waist and ran up a couple of inches. It looked ugly, and he was curious as to how he got it. Maybe got caught in something sharp since people tended to throw shit into the ocean. 

Blood was slowly seeping out and Jason needed to close the wound soon or he could risk an infection. He slipped off his shirt, pulled it over his head and squeezed out the excess water. Quickly, he wrapped it around the merman's torso and pressed down on the wound, soaked up all the blood and to stop the bleeding.

Jason wasn't sure what to do, but he wanted to help. Obviously, he couldn't just leave him to die here or get caught and stuffed in an exhibition like a freak show. Also couldn't just toss him back in the water either. 

The best option was to bring him back home to care for his wound and that's what he decided to do. Jason quickly scanned the area for any signs of life, found no one since he was kind of out late, almost around sunset and add to the fact that it wasn't the most populated beach either. Just some sandy place he liked to stroll about.

He slipped his arms beneath his tail and back and in one swift move, lifted him up. Jason groaned, almost lost his balance, and found the merman to be a little on the heavy side. Should have expected it because his tail was freaking long. Jason was a strong man, but he was struggling a bit. Eventually he was able to make it to his car, and carefully laid the fish boy down on the backseat, careful to not get anything wet. Then got in the driver's seat and sped home as safely as he could.

\--------

"There," Jason said, stared at his work of art, satisfied how well he was able to bandage the wound. 

He'd cleaned up the cut, washed the blood away and checked it to see the depth of the wound. It wasn't deep and wouldn't need stitches which was a relief. Jason then applied a thin layer of antibiotic ointment, covered it up with a gauze and wrapped his torso around with bandages. 

The pretty merman was still unconscious and laying on his bed on a stack of towels. He wasn't exactly sure where to place him and well, Jason lived in a fairly small apartment. Only had one bed and a couch and he figured the bed was the best option. 

He just hoped he didn't actually need water to breathe. But he seemed to be doing fine on his own, his breathing was soft and regulated so Jason wasn't too worried. Unsure of what else to do, Jason decided to pass some time by watching TV. Otherwise, he'd just sit and stare and probably nod off. He wanted to at least be awake for when he woke up.

\--------

Hours later, Jason heard the bed shift and looked up from where he was sitting at the foot of his bed. Was catching up on his shows while he waited for the merman to stir awake. Quietly, he got up to his feet and crouched, peeked over the edge of the mattress. Watched as the creature made moaning sounds that honestly sounded like music to his ears as he twisted and turned on his bed.

His hand moved and was brought to his eyes to rub away the sleep. 

"Where—?" He asked, voice groggy. Though it was awfully beautiful and Jason was a tad smitten.

Eyelids lifted and the merman sluggishly looked around the room briefly before they fell upon Jason. When their eyes met, the merman was alarmed and jumped up in his seat or tried too as he fell back onto his side from the imbalance of his tail and the bouncy mattress. Though it shocked Jason enough that he fell down on his ass and groaned. 

"Who are you?!" The merman shouted, frantic and worried as he attempted to prop himself up again.

Jason rubbed at his bottom, willing away the pain as he stood up on his feet. He gazed down at the frightened merman, could see the worried look in his eyes. How he was backed up against the headboard, still trying to support himself, but looked as if he was having a hard time sitting.

"Hey—" Jason said and the merman flinched. Blue eyes widened in caution andwow. Fucking  _wow_. His eyes were gorgeous and perfectly matched the color of his tail. A vivid and bold sapphire blue, expressive with the way his eyes were dazzling with curiosity and yet, fear.

" _Who. Are. You?_ " The merman hissed, his voice sharp and on edge.

Jason sighed and ran a hand through his rumpled hair. Okay, so he was frightened which made perfect sense. Humans were a crazy species, liked to be nosy in everything and did all sorts of experiments. Based on how frightened he look, this merman might have had a few run-ins, if anything.

"Just breathe and relax." Easier said than done. "I'm not here to hurt you." Jason held up his hands to indicate that he was peaceful. 

The merman narrowed his eyes, vivid blue eyes squinted at him in suspicion. He didn't seem to trust Jason much but he seemed to relax a bit. The stiffness of his shoulders fell, slumped down if just a smidge.

"Okay..." He said and flipped his tail. "Then...explain to me how I got here." He gestured at the room and Jason just shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I found you floating in the water. Thought it was someone drowning so I jumped in to save you. Turned out you're a...fish. Or merman. Then I found a wound on you and you were bleeding and unconscious. So I brought you back to my home to help fix up that cut," Jason explained.

The merman scrunched his nose, a little confused as he let the information sink in. Was quiet for a brief moment as he processed the details. Then his eyes roamed about, moving from left to right. "Hm." 

Jason was a little nervous by how he would react. He wasn't lying but he understood his precaution. He was in an unfamiliar place with a stranger and he was injured and very clearly, couldn't just get up and run off. His tail prohibited that.

"I see," he finally answered and brought his attention back to Jason. "I guess I should thank you." 

"Nah. No need. Just doing what was right." Jason brushed it off, slightly embarrassed. 

"But you helped me so I should thank you," He said, lips curling into a small smile.

 _Fuck._  Not only was he beautiful but his smile was also mesmerizing and Jason just, god damn—was falling for a fish.

He sucked in a breath, a light pink dusting his cheeks and tried to act nonchalant. "Sure. Did what I had to do." He paused, cleared his throat and tugged at his shirt. "So, how'd you get that cut?"

The more important question was, what was he? But Jason felt that would be rude so didn't ask.

"Um—" Okay maybe he should start with the important question.

"Actually, let's—let's start off with uh, what are you exactly?" Well that was a little tactless. Jason mentally grilled himself for being so not smooth.

His lips widen into a full blown smile and he was chuckling, amused. Fucking, geez, how can someone be so damn right adorable? 

"As you can see, I'm not human." He pointed at his long and luscious blue tail and wiggled it around. "I'm what you call, a merman. Not a mermaid." He explained, but of course, Jason knew that. "And yes, I'm a fish, but I can breathe on land. Though I do need to be replenished every so often or I dry out." His eyes moved to his fin, and Jason couldn't help but look. Was searching for signs of him, what? Drying out? "Patches of cracks will show, but it seems fine for now," he said.

"That's good. Would a moist towel help?" Jason asked and the merman nodded. "Should I get one?"

"I'm fine for now," he said. "Oh!" he exclaimed and alarmed Jason. "By the way, my name is Richard, but I go by Dick." Dick,  _right_. Jason was itching to make a joke of that, but then when his eyes fell upon the merman's tail and didn't exactly see a—what you would normal see on a male, he bit back his joke.

"I'm Jason."

"Jason!" Dick said, excited. "That's a nice name," and he was smiling bright and  _god,_  it was blinding.

"Uh yeah." Embarrassed, Jason moved off to the side so he didn't have such a direct view of Dick. He wasn't a fan of compliments because it made him blush and he hated blushing in front of others. "So," he started, wanted to get back on topic. "Where are you from?"

"The ocean." Well duh. "Uh, I guess around these waters? I live with my family on the ocean floor. Um, I was exploring and spotted a boat. They were hurting the sea creatures so I tried to stop them without revealing myself. I got caught up and wasn't being careful when a spear hit the water and grazed my side. As I was trying to stop the bleeding, I wasn't watching and the boat sped off, hit me and I guess I passed out."

 _Ouch._ That didn't sound too good.  

"How are you feeling right now?" Jason asked, strode to his side to check the bandages. The blood had stopped and there was none of it seeping through so Jason had done a fine job.

"Fine for the most part. The cut hurts a bit." Dick said, hissed as he shifted and aggravated the wound. 

"That's good to know. I tried to bandage you as best as I could." Jason boldly sat on the side of his bed and faced Dick. He was tired of standing and his legs were getting tired, so it was a good excuse to just sit. 

Dick's pretty eyes fluttered and he smiled at him, touched a hand to the bandages and brushed his fingers along. "You did well." He said. "Thanks."

"Uh, yeah. You're welcome." Jason wished he'd stop thanking him. Could feel his cheeks warming up, probably glowing bright red. "So, if you don't mind, tell me a bit about your kind?" Jason was honestly curious. Never once did he expect to find a merman because they were supposed to be mythical creatures and yet, they weren't.

Dick chuckled and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. "I don't mind if you don't tell anyone." Sapphire eyes stared at him sternly.

"Of course," Jason said, serious. "I won't tell a soul."

"I have your trust?" Dick asked, had to be sure.

"Yeah. You do."

"Pinky swear?" Dick extended his hand and held up his pinky.

 _Pinky what?_  Merpeople had such a thing? They knew what that meant? God, Jason just thought it was a human thing.

"Yeah." He hooked his pinky around Dick's without hesitation, felt how smooth his skin was, and admired the sun-kissed hue, golden and vibrant.

As legends put it, merpeople are beautiful.

They shook on their promise and then Dick started on his tale. Told him about how merpeople lived all over the ocean floor, scattered to different parts of the world. His family in particular resided near Gotham city. Just a little ways off the harbor. Far off enough so they were separate from the humans.

"So is it anything like Atlantis?"

Dick tilted his head quizzically and raised a brow. "Atlantis?" He asked.

"You know, like, a giant kingdom of fish people."

Dick quirked his lips and thought about it. "Maybe? I'm not exactly sure what that is." 

Of course he wouldn't know. It was after all, a movie and a folktale. He doubted they had television underwater. "Never mind about that then." He didn't want to delve in too deeply in that realm. "What is your home like?"

“Well we live in a small community. There's a bunch of families and mine as well.”

“Oh?” Jason was interested. Didn't even think there were that many merpeople. He wondered how big Dick’s family was.

“Mhm. I have a father and two younger brothers. Oh and a grandfather sort of too.” Dick was counting on his fingers the number of people that lived around him. “Then there are the Gordons. And then the Browns. And a couple more.”

“That's interesting. Do you guys live in a town and then have…houses?” Jason wasn't sure if they lived in houses or caves or whatever.

“Hm. Sort of. Not like your homes from what I know. But kind of like, um, I'm not sure how to explain it. But we make our homes out of things we find or we use caves that are big enough to house everyone."

Which makes sense. He wished he could see their little town but he'd drown getting there so not a good idea.

“How do you know so much about us?” Jason asked. That question had been lingering at the back of his mind.

“ _Oh._  Well,” Dick said and licked his lips and Jason noticed how chapped they were.

“Do you want water?” He interrupted, was worried Dick was maybe drying out.

“Oh.” He was surprised by that question and smiled. “Yes please.”

Jason disappeared to the kitchen and brought back a glass of water. He handed it off to Dick and the merman downed the water so quickly Jason was amazed.

“Guess you were thirsty.” Jason stated the obvious as he grabbed the glass and set it on the table beside his bed. He took his seat again and scooted just a bit closer so he could place his hand just a few inches away from his fin.

Dick chuckled lightly. “Yeah. Um. Where was I again?”

“My world.”

“Oh yeah. I don't actually know that much. Just based off what I've seen in a few pictures and when I lurk around in the water and stories.”

“Ah. First time on land?” Okay that was a dumb question.

“Yeah.”

Which Jason should have expected but asked anyways. He sighed softly, eyes traveling to Dick’s tail, once more awed by the beauty.

“Hm.” He hummed, noticed how parts of the tail were actually beginning to dry out. There were patches of where his scales appeared a little pale in color in comparison to other parts. “You're drying.”

Dick snapped his head and stared at his tail. Reached a hand to run his fingers along the bright blue. “ _Oh._  They are. I've never been out of the water for this long.”

Ah. “Let me fill my tub then and I can set you in there to hydrate.”

Dick nodded and Jason moved to his bathroom. He was about to turn on the faucet but then wasn't sure what temperature he should use. “Hot or cold?” he called out.

“Hot!” Dick shouted back.

Hot it was. Jason let the water run, slowly filling the tub as he sat on the edge and took in a breather, a long and heavy sigh escaping his lips. Honestly, he was surprised how well he was able to handle this situation. It was out of the ordinary and he had no expertise in this area.

Then again, who did?

It was probably because Dick was so pretty and cooperative that he wasn't having a moment of panic. He was sure he would have lost his cool by now. But Dick was kind and cute and Jason couldn’t forget that adorable laugh. So fluffy and sweet. The way his lips curled into a smile, teeth all pearly white and the way his eyes would glow with interest and awe.

Fuck. He was smitten.

Jason turned off the faucet once the tub was mostly filled. He filed back into his bedroom and found Dick fiddling with his remote controller, switching up the channels on the TV. His eyes were glued to the screen, wide and bulging, wearing an expression full of curiosity.

Jason laughed, amused and caught Dick’s attention.

“Oh. Sorry.” Dick apologized, dropped his remote. He looked like a kicked puppy and Jason felt bad.

He shook his head. “Nah. It's fine. I'm sure we have a lot of interesting gadgets.” Jason strode to the side of his bed, sucked in a breath as he just stared down at the merman. Should he just lift him or should he—?

“Can I carry you?” Jason asked and Dick nodded, held out his arms willingly.

Alright. He had to do this well and not struggle like he did earlier. He didn’t want to embarrass himself now.

Jason breathed in and out, cracked his knuckles and slipped them beneath Dick. He settled on holding him midway of his fin and the other at his back. Dick locked his arm around his neck, held on for support. Using his core, he lifted Dick up in one swift move – a success, and carried the merman to his bathroom. He settled him gently in his medium sized tub and heard Dick sigh contently.

Dick took up the whole length of the tub, didn’t actually fit completely as the tips of his fin were hanging out over the edge. The merman dipped into the water and submerged himself for a brief moment, wetting his entire body before he floated back up.

“Feels good,” he moaned blissfully and that oddly sounded erotic.

“I'm glad.” Jason smiled and tried to ignore his rapidly beating heart. “Are you okay to lay in here for the night?” he was sure he'd dry out if he spent the night in his bed.

 _His bed_ … well, not with Jason in it.

Dick nodded. “Yeah I'll be fine.”

“Good to know,” he smiled and then took a seat on the tile floor. Jason leaned his side against the tub and dipped a hand into the steaming hot water. The tips of his fingers met with Dick’s fin and he casually trailed them upwards, felt the bumpiness of the scales. A slight tremor rippled through Dick’s body from the touch and he laughed out loud.

“Tickles,” he said but there was a soft smile to his face. He didn't seem bothered by it so Jason continued on and was basically caressing his fin.

They fell into a calm conversation and carried on for the rest of the night.

\--------

Jason had completely forgotten that there was a merman in his house so when he entered the bathroom in the morning, he was shocked. He jumped back and almost tripped over his feet.

Dick was already awake and chuckled at Jason. “Good morning,” he greeted.

Jason rubbed at his eyes, ridding himself of the sleep that accumulated overnight. “Morning…” His voice was deep and scratchy, and he was just so groggy. They’d chatted so late into the night and Jason hadn’t gotten enough sleep. “Forgot that you were here.”

“Oh.” Dick said. “Um—“

“It’s nothing to worry about. The sleep just messed with my memories,” Jason said and waved it off. He dragged his tired feet to the side of the tub and began undressing himself slowly. He didn’t get the chance to wash up last night and was itching to clean himself. He smelled like sweat and salt water since he had taken a dip in the ocean yesterday to save Dick.

“Wait.” Jason paused as he was about to pull off his pants. “Is it okay if…I shower with you?” Jason asked. “I guess bathe.” He clarified since his tub was basically his shower and there was no other bathroom. As odd as it was, it wasn’t like he minded showering with Dick though he could have simply just taken Dick out and let him chill in his room while he took a quick bath.

“Sure.” Dick didn’t seem to mind it either so Jason didn’t offer. “I refilled the water too.” He said, smiling. Jason had showed him how to use the faucet in case he wanted to refill the tub with warm water once it ran cold.

Jason finished stripping and tossed his clothes into a pile, kicked it to the wall before he dipped a foot in the water. He sighed contently from the warmth of the water, could see the tiny bits of steam floating just above the surface. As he was about to sit down, he caught Dick staring at him. Well, not directly at him because their eyes didn’t meet but rather, he was looking straight ahead. Jason’s eyes peered down, found exactly what Dick was looking at and suddenly, he felt embarrassed for the attention on his cock.

“What’s that?” Dick asked and pointed. 

“Uh. A penis?” He answered, dumbfounded. 

Dick hummed in thought and reached out a hand to touch it which Jason didn’t allow him and swatted his hand away. “Oops,” he said, realized he’d just rejected Dick. Not wanting to make him feel bad, he apologized. “Sorry. It’s uh, a reproductive organ.” 

Dick still didn’t seem to understand, was confused as he stared up at Jason. He sucked in a breath, didn’t like the attention he was getting and dropped down into the tub. The water splashed about, spilling over the side and onto the ground. 

“I don’t understand,” Dick said. 

Jason sighed as he pulled his legs into his chest, tried to get comfy but found it quite uncomfortable. Of course a tub wouldn’t be able to hold two grown men—wait, one merman and one man—in a tub together. At least, not with Dick’s tail taking up most of the space. At least the merman was considerate and shifted to the side to allow extra room for Jason. 

Jason thought about it for a moment, tried to think up the easiest way to explain it to him. “It’s used to…excrete bodily waste?” Well, liquids. 

“Oh.” Dick said. “Is that it?” 

“Well, it’s used for other things. Like, pleasure and…reproducing.” 

“Making babies?” 

“Uh…yes.” 

“How?”

Shit, things just got awkward real fast and Jason wasn’t sure he actually wanted to give Dick the talk about the birds and the bees. Considering he’d have to start by explaining the female and male anatomy and he wasn’t up for that. 

“Just you know—“  Jason tried to gesture like Dick could understand by waving his hands oddly. “That.” And then he attempted to make a hole with one hand and with his other hand, stuck the pointer finger through the hole to indicate sexual intercourse between two humans.

Dick titled his head, still confused and shook his head. “I don’t know.” But of course he didn’t. If he didn’t know what a penis was then surely he didn’t know what a vagina was. And that whole visual example was just pointless and Jason didn’t even understand why he even showed it. 

Jason drew in a shaky breath and splashed his face with water to cool down his embarrassment. “Then how do you,” Jason started but then decided he really didn’t want to know so dropped his question all together. If he wasn’t going to explain how human sex worked then he wasn’t ready to hear about merpeople sex. Best to stay away. “Never mind.” 

“Can I touch it?” Dick blurted curiously and Jason almost decided to just jump out of the tub and run over to his friend’s place to shower instead. This was getting beyond uncomfortable. It’s not like he was a virgin because he wasn’t but having sex and talking about it were two different things. Especially to someone who knew nothing about the human body and also a fish Jason was infatuated with. 

“ _No._ ” That might have come off too harshly seeing how Dick’s smile fell. “I mean, you can’t. It’s—it’s only for me to use and uh, intimate purposes.”

Dick quirked his lips into a pout. He was still confused, but nodded his head anyways, seemed to get the point that no touching anywhere around his penis was a no go. 

“Okay.” 

Jason breathed, relieved and decided to steer the conversation away to something not about him. 

\-------- 

The time came for Jason to release Dick back into the wild—or to nicely put it, get him back home. They’d bonded over the past few days and Jason had learned much about Dick. About things he liked and the underwater life. Jason also had the chance to introduce Dick to different types of food and apparently, he does eat other fish. 

They watched shows together because Dick was amused by how there were people stuck in a box. Which he had to simplify his explanation for Dick to understand how it worked. Merpeople didn’t have advanced technology, but of course they didn’t since those don’t exactly work in water.

Jason waited until night time to travel out to the beach so he could get Dick back home. It was easier since people wouldn’t take notice of them. Jason carried Dick out to the sandy beach, held him firm in his arms as he tried to tread carefully on the unbalanced sand, didn’t want to drop his beloved fish boy. 

Dick’s tail was wrapped in a towel and he was dressed in one of Jason’s shirt. It was odd having to constantly stare at his bare chest so Jason gave him a shirt. It was simple, just a red shirt that was a little big on him, but for some odd reason, Dick liked wearing it. Always asked to wear the shirt whenever he was out of the tub.

“So,” Jason said, settled Dick down onto the shores. He pulled back his towel and draped it across his shoulders. “Guess this is it.” 

Dick smiled, small and little sad. “Yeah,” he murmured. 

“It’s been…fun.” As much as he wanted to ask Dick to stay, he couldn’t. It just wouldn’t work out no matter how hard Jason tried, couldn’t risk letting others find out that he was keeping a merman. 

“Yeah. It has.” Dick smiled fondly. “Um—can I keep your shirt?” He asked, shy as he pinched at the red fabric. 

“Oh,” Jason was surprised he’d want it. Considering it’d just get wet and stick to his torso, probably create drag when he tried to swim. “If you want, you can have it.” 

Dick’s expression brightened, and Jason felt his heart squeeze, didn’t want to let him go. If he could, he’d let him stay, but that wasn’t happening. Dick had a life and family of his own that he needed to return to.

“So…this is goodbye.” Jason sighed, heart heavy.

“…Yeah.” Dick mumbled and flicked his tail depressingly. Sighing softly, he brought a hand to Jason’s face and cupped his cheek tenderly.  “Thank you for helping me and…I’m glad we met.” 

God damn, Jason wanted so badly to kiss him, but he couldn’t. He just—he couldn’t. Because then it’d be even harder to say goodbye and it was already killing him slowly. Just wanted to get it done and over with so he could run home and brood. 

Jason covered his hand over Dick’s and stared into his gorgeous eyes, still dazzling even in the dark. “I’m glad we met as well.” This was starting to feel like one of those sad rom-com movies. “I hope we can meet again one day.”

Dick chuckled sadly. “Me too,” he whispered, leaned in and kissed the corner of Jason’s mouth, completely catching him by surprise. “Thanks again Jason.”

“Uh—yeah. Of course.” He didn’t know what else to say and watched with his mouth ajar as Dick pulled back his hand and carried off into the water. He swam into the distance, far enough from Jason and then turned around to look longingly at him. The man exhaled quietly, knew that Dick didn’t exactly want to go yet but had to send him off anyways so he waved a small good-bye and could see Dick returning the gesture before he disappeared into the water, the tip of his tail splashing before he was completely gone.

\--------

Life was different without Dick. Well, not really, it pretty much just went back to normal, boring and listless. It was more fun with Dick around because he could listen to his interesting stories and then be entertained when Dick asked him questions about the human world. Now, he was just entertaining himself with TV shows or his friends. 

Jason was bored and was resting in his bedroom when his phone rang. His hand slammed against his mattress as he tried to find where his damn cell phone was hiding in his sheets. Finally locating it, he picked it up and brought it to his ear. “Hello?”

“Hello, may I speak to a Jason Todd?” It was a woman and not one he recognized. 

“This is him.” 

“ _Ah._  Mr. Todd, if I could ask, can you please come down to our police station?” The woman politely spoke and that didn’t help to quell his fears because right now, he was worried. He didn’t know what it was that constituted him receiving a call from the police station. Surely everything he did was within legal limits. “Uh, may I ask what this is for?”

“Oh.” She gasped, seemed to realize she should have explained the reason beforehand. “Of course. There’s a mister…” she trailed off and he could hear her speaking to someone else. “Dick. A man by the name of…Dick Grayson is here and he says he knows you.” 

Dick. As in,  _Dick_  the merman? Because he’d never heard of his last name before so he wasn’t sure, but Jason didn’t know anyone else named Dick. But that wouldn’t explain why he was at the police station and not to mention the fact that he’s a fish with a fin and how the hell did he even make it there? Did they…oh god. Did they find him or something?

Jason was freaking out now, couldn’t wrap his mind around what the fuck could be going on. Either way, he asked for the station location and bolted out of his apartment.

\--------

What he found wasn’t exactly what he imagined on the way there. When he spotted Dick, he was dressed in that red shirt of his that he asked to keep and he had legs. He fucking had  _legs_. Really nice legs might he add but that wasn’t the point. He was clearly a merman the last time Jason saw him and he had a damn tail. Now his tail was gone and he was sitting in a police station, in his shirt, and—and apparently was wearing nothing underneath! He was butt naked and the shirt was barely keeping his front and back hidden. 

“Uh—“ Jason was flabbergasted and just pointed straight at the merman turned man who stood up immediately the moment he spotted Jason in his peripherals. 

“Jason!” He exclaimed, bolted over to Jason and almost tripped before he threw his arms around him in a crushing hug.

Jason was stunned speechless and didn’t know what to say. Just stared at him like a complete idiot because how did he get those legs? What the fuck happened to his tail? And oh god—he can see his butt. Yeah his butt was just in plain sight and his shirt was rising up as he trailed his hands up to hook behind Jason’s neck.

“Why are you not wearing—actually, no, scratch that. Why are you here?” Jason asked and tried to maneuver out of his jacket without tossing Dick aside so that he could tie it around the man’s waist and at least hide his butt from plain view. 

“I wanted to see you again!” Dick murmured and sounded really excited. 

"Uh okay." Jason had a million questions running through his mind that he wanted to ask Dick, but couldn't. Not with all these officers staring at them. "So," He looked at the officer in the eyes. "Can I take him back?" 

"After you sign the papers." 

"Of course." 

\-------- 

As he was signing the papers, Jason received the story of how they found Dick. Apparently, they were out patrolling when they spotted Dick, dressed in just his red shirt, and had to pull over and question him. Something about public indecency and well, okay, it was. Not to mention, he was wet and looked like he needed immediate help. Probably because he looked a little...wrecked in his appearance and they probably thought something awful happened.

Either way, they asked him questions and Dick couldn't answer any besides the fact that he wanted to find Jason. So they brought him down to the station, looked Jason up and found him. They didn't charge Dick with anything, seemed to think he was just a little lost and Jason had to fabricate a story of how they were friends and he's just a bit, not up to speed. As bull-shit as that sounded, they bought it.

So he brought him home, had to support him as he tried to walk on his wobbly legs. Dick couldn't get a grip on them and was having difficulty. He tripped and fell a few times and good thing Jason was there to catch him or he'd scrap his pretty knees.

"So, care to explain how you now have...those?" Jason asked and gestured at his legs. Dick was sitting on the bed and wiggled his toes, like they were the most interesting thing ever. They kind of were in this current situation. 

Jason dressed him up in a brand new shirt that didn't smell of sea water and gave him his sweatpants that wore a little low on his hips.  _Hm_. Upon getting a closer look, Dick looked alluring in his outfit, in a sort of messy way considering it didn’t really fit him well and it was like Jason had just finished having his way with Dick with how his hair was sticking up all over the place and—no. That’s not what they were here to talk about. 

Jason climbed onto the bed and crossed his legs so he was sitting face to face with Dick who was just staring at him with those gorgeous sapphire eyes. Was watching him with glee and smile wide. 

Dick parted his lips to speak and explained his story. "I asked a witch for help." 

"A witch?" Jason raised a brow in curiosity. So, merpeople and witches existed.

Dick nodded and fiddled with his shirt. "A sea witch. I asked her to change me into a human." 

"You—wait. You  _what?_ " Jason was tongued tied and stared at him with eyes bulging, flabbergasted.  

Dick clarified it once more. "I asked her to change me into a human." 

"But... _why?_ "

Dick puffed air into his cheek and narrowed his eyes, gave Jason a look. "I wanted to..." he mumbled, and blushed. "I wanted to see you again." 

"Oh."  _Wow._  That was...that was a cute thing to do. "But, you—wait. You didn't lose anything right?" 

Dick blinked at him and pulled his lips into a thin line. "Like what?" 

"Like, something important. Like in the Little Mermaid."

"Little Mermaid?" Dick questioned, confused and Jason mentally slapped himself on the head. Of course he didn't know what that movie was. Most of Jason's knowledge of merpeople, besides what he learned from Dick, were based on movies he'd seen – especially the Little Mermaid. 

"For example, you had to trade something of importance for the witch to cast a spell on you. So, what was it? Clearly not your voice since you can still talk." Jason was fretting now, worried that Dick traded his soul to the devil.

Dick still didn’t seem to get it and just stared at Jason funnily until he started laughing. Now it was Jason’s turn to give him the crazy look, because seriously, Dick was being odd right now. And the fact that he was now magically a human confused Jason even more. The merman stuff was already hard enough for him to accept. Now this? Yeah, harder. 

"Nothing," Dick said, still giggling and wiped away a tear. "I didn't have to give her anything." 

Jason scratched his head, couldn't comprehend the ways the merpeople worked. "That's strange. I figured you would for the exchange." 

"Nothing like that. The witch is my friend and I asked her for help and she gave it." 

"Oh...your friend." Now that made a lot of sense and who knew Dick had a sea witch friend. He wondered what she looked like. 

Dick smiled and nodded. "Yes friend, her name is Raven." Raven, like a bird? Interesting, but she was probably not what Jason was imagining at all. 

As he was deep in thought, he caught Dick moving from the corner of his eyes. Found him making his way towards Jason, crawling on his hands and knees as he closed the small distance. Boldly, Dick clambered onto Jason’s lap and made himself comfortable. 

"Uh—" Jason was honest to god a little confused. Not that he didn't like the situation he currently found himself in because  _he did_ , but there was just too much happening right at the moment and it was overwhelming for him to absorb all at once. 

"I like you Jason," Dick whispered and buried his fingers into Jason’s soft hair, gingerly brushing it back before he dipped in and pecked his cheek. "And I wanted to spend time with you." 

" _Oh._ " Apparently,  _‘oh’_  was the only thing in his vocabulary today since he seemed to be saying that quite frequently besides the occasionally stuttering.

"So I decided to become a human so I can stay with you. I mean, that is...if you'll have me." Dick sighed bleakly, unsure of himself even though he was confidently sitting in Jason’s lap comfortably, like he owned this seat and he’d done it before. Jason didn’t mind at all if he continued to do it in the future. 

It took a brief second for Jason to realize that Dick was looking for reassurance and he should probably say something to assure the merman—or well, merman turned man that he was ecstatic. "Of course you can stay. I...I want you to stay.  _I mean_...I like you too." 

Dick's lips spread into a wide smile, and the man was practically glowing with glee. "I'm glad." He whispered and Jason couldn't help but do the one thing that he’d been wanting to do. He flipped Dick down onto the bed, back flat against the sheets and crushed his lips against Dick’s, kissed him passionately.

Jason felt Dick smile into the kiss, let him do all the leading and Jason couldn’t help but mentally thank the gods or the sea witch for letting his small wish come true.


End file.
